Toronto women seek divorce after marrying last year

July 22, 2004|By New York Times News Service.

TORONTO — Two Toronto women who were among the first same-sex couples to marry in Canada are seeking what may be the first Canadian same-sex divorce.

The women were married June 18, 2003, a week after a landmark court decision legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. They were together for nearly 10 years but separated after five days of marriage.

The women are seeking to change Canada's divorce law, which still applies only to marriages between a man and a woman. Their identities have been kept secret by court order.

While more than 3,000 same-sex couples have married in the past year in Canada, the Canadian Divorce Act has not been challenged and amended to reflect the new reality of gay marriage.

"These people were legally married but under the law of our land cannot be divorced until the Divorce Act is changed," said Julie Hannaford, a lawyer for one of the women.

To divorce, the couple must have a judge with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rule that the current Divorce Act is unconstitutional. The case is scheduled to be heard Sept. 13.

The federal government has drafted legislation to legalize same-sex marriage across Canada but has first referred the legislation to the Supreme Court to decide on the constitutionality of homosexual marriage.

The issue of same-sex divorce may be complicated if the federal government awaits the Supreme Court's decision on marriage before settling the question of divorce, said Martha McCarthy, the lawyer for the other woman.